The Boston Red Sox swept the Colorado Rockies, after an 84 year drought, to win another bittersweet World Series title in four years. The team has yet to celebrate at the hallowed ground of Fenway Park.

Frantic post game celebration did not belie the lackluster end to a not-so-dramatic October Classic.

Sox fans certainly have reason for celebration; their cursed team are becoming the 1990s Yankees of this decade, through a mixture of loose pocket acquisitions and home-grown talent. Yet for baseball fans, they have yet to give us a good reason to tune into the World Series.

There is a lot to be said for the young and scrappy Rockies, who looked notably outmatched in this year’s series. It’s a disappointing trend in what is turning into a tedious October “tradition” rather than a “classic.” In the last four years the losing team has won exactly ONE World Series game; this is hardly the breading ground for baseball legend-making.

Joe Carter and Kirk Gibson’s historic homeruns wouldn’t have made a difference if their teams hadn’t put them in the position to help win a series with one stroke of a bat. So for the sake of baseball, if the Red Sox do in fact turn into the next baseball dynasty, maybe they could at least keep it a little closer next time. And for the love of the green monster; WIN AT FENWAY!

NFL: Patriots and Colts–the showdown of the season

by JOAN SOLEY

Hear ye, hear ye…for those of us who are serious football fans, this Sunday’s meeting between the undefeated New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts is what we live for. It might be the game of the season, and it certainly is the “Super Bowl of Sundays.”

The dizzying array of statistics belonging to both teams and their players makes taking advanced math classes worth it. New England is currently riding high on eight regular season wins, as are the Colts with seven (they had a bye-week this month).

The Patriots are not just winning; they are dominating, scoring an average of 25 more points per game than their opposition. However, the rankings of the teams the Patriots are crushing–I mean, playing–are nothing to write home about. Examples; the Dolphins in last place are No. 32 in the league, the Bengals are at No.25 and the Jets are No. 30.

The same cannot be said for 2007 Super Bowl winners, the Indy Colts. The team has faced tougher games, making their solid performances that bit more impressive–the Jacksonville Jaguars (No.8), the Tennessee Titans (No. 9) and the Denver Broncos (No.16). The Colts, and quarterback Peyton Manning, show no sign of the accursed “post-Super Bowl win” slump, which so often sets in (hello, Pittsburgh in 2006).

How can I not have mentioned the golden child, Tom Brady? The QB for the Patriots is making and breaking NFL records like never before; Brady is the only quarterback in NFL history to start and win three Super Bowls before his 28th birthday, and he entered 2007 with a record of 82-26 in regular-season and playoff games–the best record of any NFL quarterback since the inception of the Super Bowl in 1966.

NBA preview

by GURPREET NANDRA

The 2008-2009 NBA season starts today with anticipation and controversy, in a game that can be entirely unpredictable.

Observer photo by Gurpreet Nandra

Los Angeles’ Laker star Kobe Bryant has been saying that the franchise isn’t doing anything to improve the team. He wants to be traded to Chicago and that may be where he ends up. If Bryant ends up in a Bulls uniform, Chicago will have a legitimate shot at getting to the NBA Finals for the first time since the departure of Michael Jordan.

Coming into the season, one of the worst teams in the league, the Boston Celtics, were banking on getting first pick in the draft; instead they got fifth pick. So they traded for veteran superstar Kevin Garnett, who previously played for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Now with Garnett, Paul Pierce at small forward, and new acquisition Ray Allen, the Celtics have a solid chance at getting into the playoffs with their “Big Three.”

The Eastern Conference champs, the Cleveland Cavaliers, aren’t expected to make it to the NBA Finals again this year. Some analysts think it was a fluke that the Cavs got there last year. They still have LeBron James and a decent supporting cast but haven’t made any significant moves in the off season to further improve the team. When shooting guard Larry Hughes is healthy, the Cavs are a competitive team. Daniel “Boobie” Gibson had an amazing post-season last year with 21- and 31-point games coming off the bench. They are still a force to be reckoned with.

The San Antonio Spurs are the defending NBA champion after sweeping the Cavs in June to win their fourth NBA title in nine years. They are a good team but this season the Dallas Mavericks may be better. Last season they were ranked No. 1 in the Western Conference, and for the first time in NBA history, lost to a eighth-seeded Golden State. The Mavericks have an excellent team and if they don’t have another post-season meltdown, they will be NBA Champions.

Gupreet’s Predictions: The Cavs will win the Eastern Conference, with the Mavericks winning the Western Conference. The MVP of the league will be LeBron James, who has and will single-handedly take the Cavaliers to the Finals again.

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